Versioning RLOs as ‘study skills toolkits’ for different user groups and developing community tools to support sharing and customisation

As patterns of need in twenty-first century higher education change so must the solutions. E-learning solutions, in particular, need to be adaptive to fit a range of teaching and learning situations. eLanguages, a research and development unit at the University of Southampton, develops online toolkits of reusable learning objects (RLOs) in Study Skills that can be versioned for different student user groups. Underpinning them is an approach which seeks to deliver high quality content and be cost-effective. Reusability and versatility are central to this. With the creation of a large base of RLOs has come recognition of the need to manage and customise these resources easily and a suite of tools enabling such actions has been developed. This paper will present the toolkits and the pedagogic design of the RLOs. The web-based tools to support management and customisation of RLOs, and potentially facilitate new toolkit creation, will also be introduced

Interactive and collaborative blended learning for undergraduates

This is an ESCalate research project from 2008 led by the University of Exeter. The aim of this project was to investigate ways of using new technologies for collaborative online learning in a blended learning context. A variety of interactive online learning tasks and e-learning tools such as wikis, discussion forums and concept maps were used for both independent learning and assessment purposes. The research was intended to show whether a more flexible approach to the use of these new technologies could promote engagement and raise the perceived quality of the learning experience of students leading to an improved e-learning confidence for the undergraduate group with better participation in online critical discussion and collaborative work. An additional outcome was the development of online tutoring skills for tutors and the opportunity to trial a range of blended learning materials and methodologies. The project involved 92 first year undergraduates from Education Studies and Childhood and Youth Studies degree programmes following a newly constructed blended learning modul

Characterisation of hydraulic and hydrogeochemical processes in a reducing and alkalinity-producing system (RAPS) treating mine drainage, South Wales, UK

A series of tracer tests has been carried out in the compost and limestone Tan-y-Garn Reducing and Alkalinity-Producing System (RAPS), designed to treat iron-rich net acidic mine water (mean pH 6.18, Fe = 47 mg L-1, alkalinity 1.70 meq L-1 and mineral acidity 1.82 meq L-1) in South Wales, UK. Conservative tracer breakthrough time in the RAPS basal effluent is approximately inversely related to throughflow rate. Repeat tracer tests indicate a long term decrease in hydraulic conductivity, but not in total porosity. A specific sodium chloride tracer test from June 2008 is reported, when 15 kg salt was added to a raw mine water inflow rate of 0.87 L s-1. Electrical conductivity and major ion chemistry were monitored for a 170 hour period. Sodium exhibited a retardation of 1.15 to 1.2 in the RAPS medium relative to chloride, due to cation exchange. Simple 1-D advection-diffusion analytical modelling succeeded in simulating the early portion of tracer breakthrough in the RAPS effluent. More complex analytical modelling, accounting for (i) mixing and dilution effects in the supernatant water input signature and (ii) matrix diffusion effects, was found to be required to adequately simulate the later-stage tail of the breakthrough curve in the RAPS effluent

ERISA and Arbitration: How Safe Is Your 401(k)?

Over the past twenty years, the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that arbitration agreements and class action waivers, when entered into without fraud or misrepresentation, are legally enforceable. This results in many consumers giving up their right to sue individually and on a class-wide basis. In a vast number of form contracts, consumers give up their rights to be heard in court and obtain relief should such a contract be breached. ERISA governs retirement plans and applies to most American workers with employer-sponsored pension plans. As the law currently stands, it is unknown whether arbitration clauses and class action waivers used in complicated plan agreements are legally enforceable. Supreme Court precedent suggests that contracts containing these clauses are enforceable. However, this Comment argues that there are legal elements unique to ERISA, such as privity concerns and built-in fiduciary duties, which cut against the enforcement of clauses and waivers. This Comment argues that if arbitration agreements and class action waivers become routinely used in ERISA documents, a huge number of consumers will be unable to sue retirement plan providers for breaches of ERISA contracts, causing the plan providers to engage in behavior that harms both the consumers and the American economy as a whole

Suggestions for Asian/Australasian regional cooperation based on a critical evaluation of collaboration and standardisation across Australian institutional repositories

Overview • Summary of state of Institutional Repositories (IRs) in Australian Universities; • Focus is on ‘research outputs’ (not learning objects etc.);• Summary of collaboration efforts; • Suggestions for regional cooperatio

Effects of a Multi-Tiered Approach to Impact Immunization Compliance of Students Attending a Medium-Sized Public University

Background: College students in Illinois must comply with laws regarding proof of immunity for specific vaccines. These laws, however, do not guarantee compliance with immunizations. Unvaccinated persons living in highly-vaccinated communities, such as college campuses, are at risk for many preventable diseases. Objective: The primary aim of this project is to collaborate with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) Health Service to develop, implement, and evaluate the effects of multi-tiered interventions to increase immunization compliance rates of first-semester college students. Methods: A brief YouTube video was presented to freshmen students, an eye-catching educational flyer was distributed by advisors and throughout campus, and an ad was played on the closed-circuit televisions across campus as well as placed in residence hall newsletters. A post-intervention student survey was developed by the student team and administered by Academic Advising. The number of compliant students was compared with the previous year to determine effectiveness of the interventions. A survey was also given to the SIUE Health Service administrative team to measure the impact of the interventions on staff effort and time consumption associated with the issue of student vaccine compliance. Results: Results showed an overall lack of knowledge among first-semester freshmen regarding required immunizations. The percentage of compliant students rose from 2016 (54.39%) to 2017 (70.84%). Conclusions: While there is no discernible way to demonstrate that the increased compliance rates were attributed solely to the project interventions, SIUE Health Service plans to continue to use all of the student project team interventions in the future

Ready or not here it comes: Australian institutional research repository data readiness surveys 2010

Australian institutional research repositories are now facing a new challenge: datasets and associated metadata. With prior focus predominantly on research outputs, repository managers are now involved in a new phase of repository re-purposing - curation of datasets and associated metadata, and provision of this metadata to a national data commons through ANDS (Australian National Data Service). Through a series of surveys conducted by the national repository support service, CAIRSS (the CAUL Australian Institutional Repository Support Service), this paper examines the research data challenges facing research repository managers, levels of institutional research data identification, and the readiness of traditional institutional research repositories to either curate or work alongside this data

Ready or not here it comes: Australian institutional research repository data readiness surveys 2010

Australian institutional research repositories are now facing a new challenge: datasets and associated metadata. With prior focus predominantly on research outputs, repository managers are now involved in a new phase of repository re-purposing - curation of datasets and associated metadata, and provision of this metadata to a national data commons through ANDS (Australian National Data Service). Through a series of surveys conducted by the national repository support service, CAIRSS (the CAUL Australian Institutional Repository Support Service), this paper examines the research data challenges facing research repository managers, levels of institutional research data identification, and the readiness of traditional institutional research repositories to either curate or work alongside this data